Visions of Lighthouses
by fanwriter1245
Summary: Tess, the hacker for the team, is Tobey and Pete's "sister" who is more than devastated when Pete is killed. It's going to take all the members of the team to remind her why she needs to get back into racing. Including one person who has a very interesting way of quitting his job... FinnxOC
1. Meet Tess

**Because this category needs a finished story, and I love Finn.**

* * *

"Give me four clicks of compression."

"All right." Joe reached beneath the car he and Finn were currently working on and did what Finn had requested of him.

Finn smirked a little. "Actually, make it three." Joe obliged his request. "No, two. Two is perfect."

"You wanna make up your mind?" Joe called up to him. "What is it, two, three, or four?"

"Exactly."

"You know I'm gonna hurt you, right?"

Finn laughed at his friend's annoyance. "Two."

"Thank you."

Tess smiled from her computer. She loved listening to Joe and Finn's banter. It never failed to be entertaining.

"Guys," Pete called coming into the room with his tablet. "Joe, you gotta check this out, man."

"Yo," Joe said as he walked over to the boy.

"Monarch's on fire. Tess, you too."

Tess took her computer off her lap and joined the others watching Monarch's latest webcast.

"Cretin, go ahead," the man said to a caller.

"Monarch, this is Darryl from East Orange," the caller said angrily. "Why would you let a redneck trust fund baby into the De Leon? He doesn't deserve to be in a winner-takes-all race with multi-million-dollar cars! Come on, Monarch!"

Monarch sighed and rolled his eyes. "Caller? Do I get to talk?" Darryl continued his rant on the phone while Monarch tried desperately to get a word in. "Darryl, have your parents ever smacked you upside the head? See, this is a case where sometimes you just need to beat kids. Darryl, Darryl, it's my show. I get—Shut up!" Darryl finally stopped talking. "Listen to me! Darryl, one important question. Have you ever even driven a race car? That's what I thought." He pushed a button, and Crazy Darryl was gone. "Let me explain to all of you people out there how this works one more time. It's my race. It's the De Leon. I created it. It's rarefied air, kids. It's beautiful. I decide who gets in and who does not get into the race, okay?"

Benny came barreling into the garage from the paint room where he had been spray-painting a new car red. "What y'all talking about?"

He looked over Pete's shoulder at the tablet to watch Monarch continue his show.

"The Flyin' Hawaiian just took down Steve Heavy Chevy in the Arizona desert."

"Tobey could easily beat those guys," Tess remarked. "We all know it."

"You got that right!" Pete smiled.

"…an invitation as a wild card," Monarch continued. "Okay? That's important. Wild card. Maybe. I'm not saying he's in, I'm saying he might be."

"Alright, I've heard enough," Tess sighed. "If Monarch knew what was good for him, he would let Tobey race in a heartbeat."

The boys smiled as everyone went back to their work stations.

Tess held out her bag to Finn. "Gummy worm? They're the sour kind," she said in a singsong voice.

Finn took one from the bag. "Do you ever eat any other kind?"

"Depends on what project I'm working on and how desperate I am." She pulled out another gummy worm. "Here, catch." She tossed the gummy worm to Finn, and he managed to catch it in his mouth. "Ooh, nice one! Now do me."

Finn took out a gummy worm from the bag, and Tess opened her mouth to catch it. When Finn threw it, it hit her cheek and fell on the ground.

"That was a terrible throw!" she laughed.

"You're just mad you missed!"

Tess laughed as she headed to the entrance of the garage to find the leader of the team.

"Tobey!" she called. "You ready for the race tonight?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," he smiled at her. "You got your programs all good and ready?"

"Never leave home without them. Prize is supposed to be pretty good tonight."

"So I've heard."

"You've got it in the bag."

"I'm glad you think so highly of me."

"Of course I do, Big Bro."

Tess had been a part of the team for around three years. She hardly ever worked on the cars, but Tess was a valuable asset to the team in that she was an incredible hacker. Tess had computer skills that the other boys could never even dream of having. Give her a computer and she could do almost anything.

Most of the time, she used her programs to figure out the best way to modify the cars they were given that Tobey would use to race. Other times, she could hack into other places and computers and find out what exactly their competition was.

Similar to how Pete and Tobey considered each other brothers, they also considered Tess a sister. Tess came in the middle: older than Pete but younger than Tobey. She loved them even more than family and would do anything for them.

When it came to her and Finn, they had been shamelessly flirting with each other for the better part of the last three years, but nothing had ever come of it. Their relationship never advanced past 'friends who flirted', even though _everyone_ teased them about it.

That night, the team drove down to Mt. Kisco Drive-In where the latest race was taking place.

Tobey pulled up with Finn, making sure to let all the girls admire his latest race car. Pete got up off the hood of his own car.

"Tobey," he smiled.

"Pete," Tobey smiled back as he got out of the car. "You good?"

"Good."

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"You know, Monarch gave you a shout-out," Benny told Tobey. "Then he crapped on your car."

"Yeah, I know, I heard," Tobey said dryly.

"Never mind that," Pete said as he put his hand on his shoulder. "While Monarch was talking about you, I had a vision."

"All right, here we go," Finn remarked as he rolled his eyes.

"Quiet, okay?" Benny smiled. "I happen to like his visions. Pete, proceed, please."

"I see water, and the sun, and—"

"Your sister in a bikini," Finn interrupted. Tess rolled her eyes as the other boys laughed.

"Shut it. I see Tobey looking at a lighthouse. I see you, and you're gonna win De Leon."

"Really?"

"Hey," Tobey said to Pete. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Petey, but I got my hands full trying to beat Jimmy Macintosh and _you_ tonight, so…"

"Jimmy Macintosh isn't in the right head space tonight," Tess told the guys. "Fight with his girlfriend going on. Shouldn't be too hard to beat him."

Tobey chuckled a little. How that girl managed to hack into all those peoples' computers, he still didn't know. He was a little wary of her digging into people's personal lives, but she had told him that she didn't go digging any farther than necessary. Now whether that was actually _true_ …

All of their heads turned as a car approached the drive-in with two very familiar people inside.

"Oh, man," Pete said quietly. "My sister and Dino are here. She didn't tell me she was coming home, guys. I'm sorry."

Tobey and Tess stared at the two people stepping out of the car. "No, it's fine."

"Coming with Dino isn't," Joe said, looking over at Tess.

"What's this fool even doing back here, man?" Benny asked.

"Maybe he just came to watch how a real racer drives," Finn joked.

"The guy raced Indy," Tobey said. "It doesn't get more real than that, Finn."

Tess scoffed. "Oh, please. You can drive circles around him, and we all know it."

Pete's sister/Dino's fiancée, Anita, started to walk over to them.

"Let's go, Tobey. You don't need that distraction."

"No, it's fine."

Benny looked at his watch. "All right, boys, the race is gonna start soon."

"Ben, you should head up," Joe said.

"I just wanna let you know I'm going because I want to and not because you told me to. Just know that."

"Okay. Way to put your foot down, Benny."

Everyone laughed as Benny, Joe, and Finn walked off to prepare for the upcoming race.

"Hey, give me a second," Tess said to Joe and Finn. She walked over to Anita and tightly hugged her. "Hey, Anita."

"Hi, Tess," Anita smiled.

"It's really good to see you again. You look wonderful."

"Thank you. You do too. I hope it's not awkward with Dino here…"

Tess smiled to mask the disdain she felt for Dino. "Not at all."

"Oh my Lord, Tess, you're taking forever!" Finn said as he came up behind her and picked her up.

"Finn!" she shouted. "I was talking!"

"I know, and we need to go get ready!"

"I guess I'll see you later, Anita!"

Anita smiled and waved to her.

"Okay, put me down!" she ordered.

They both laughed as they arrived at Joe's truck, AKA The Beast.

Tess looked back at Dino who was signing autographs. "I can't believe I used to date that guy."

"Why did you even date that guy?" Finn asked.

"I ask myself that every day."

Tess really liked Anita and considered her to be one of her best friends. Dino, however, was another story. She had dated him a couple years ago before he got engaged to Anita. Looking back, it had been one of the stupidest decisions of her life. Dino only cared about two things: winning and money. She'd tried to tell Anita that, but the girl wasn't convinced.

Tess secretly wished that Anita and Tobey would get back together, but it didn't look like that was going to happen any time soon.

They all drove down to the finish line and set up their equipment for the upcoming race. Joe called up Tobey on his cell phone.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Good," Tobey answered. "Have you got the roads locked down?"

"The road is clear. We are at the finish line, and Benny is in the Cessna." Joe hung up the phone and took out his walkie-talkie. "Liar One, you standing by?"

Benny groaned from inside his plane. "Ah, here we go with this again."

"I wouldn't have to use that handle if you stopped telling people you flew Apache helicopters."

"I took an Apache for a joyride, okay? That's all I said."

"I know that's what you said. We just don't believe you."

"Hey, man, look, just because I'm a crew chief doesn't mean I don't know how to fly. You gotta have guts of titanium alloy to do what I do. So I need a little respect. A little R-E-S-P-E-C-T."

"All right, enough messing around. What's the status…Liar One?"

Finn and Tess looked at each other as they laughed.

"Clear," Benny said unamused. "And this is 'Maverick'. Call me Maverick, or I will kamikaze this into your fat head."

Finn and Tess put on their headsets so they could hear Tobey and Benny. Finn set up everything on the screen on the side of the Beast while Tess readied everything on her computer. During each race, Tess recorded various racing tidbits that they could use in future races. If one part of a car worked better than another, she wanted to remember that and let Tobey know so he could fix up another car with that part. She also liked to make notes of things Tobey and Pete did well and things they could improve on.

Dino walked up to the two of them. "Mind if I watch?" He looked over at his ex-girlfriend. "Tess."

"Dino."

Finn awkwardly stood between them as the tension in the air thickened to a point where he really wished he could be absolutely anywhere else. There was rarely a time where Finn couldn't lighten the room with a small quip, but this was one of those times.

Joe joined them as the racers formed at the starting line. The videos on the front of Tobey's and Pete's cars were working perfectly.

The passing train blew its horn and the race began.


	2. Tobey Needs Money

"Okay, gentlemen, please be advised, I got traffic ahead. Repeat, I got traffic ahead," Benny's voice came across their headsets.

The four of them watched the video on the Beast as all of the racers weaved in and out of traffic in order to be the victor of the night.

"That was close," Dino remarked after witnessing Tobey's close call with another vehicle. "He got lucky."

"It's not luck," Joe answered. "He's patient."

Dino looked over at Tess and she raised her eyebrows with a smug look on her face. She knew that Tobey was a better driver than Dino, and deep down, he knew it too.

For someone in a major fight with his girlfriend, Jimmy Macintosh actually really had it going tonight. He was in the lead for a good majority of the race with Pete behind him and Tobey coming in last. After many twists and turns throughout alleys and garages, Tobey managed to squeeze past Pete.

Tobey rounded a corner right behind Jimmy and ended up nearly running over a homeless man. The man got out of the way just in time, but his shopping cart was a goner.

"Benny!" Tobey yelled from his car.

Benny laughed. "You bodied that guy's grocery cart."

Tobey was neck and neck with Jimmy now. He was almost at the finish line.

Tobey went through the exit of the last tunnel while Jimmy went through the entrance. Tobey gunned the gas and managed to come out just before Jimmy did.

"Yes!" Tess screamed excitedly.

"Whoo!" Finn cheered.

Tess happily hugged Finn as they cheered for Tobey's victory.

"Sweet!" Benny said from inside his plane. "Hey, yo, Father Joseph, make sure you save me a beer, buddy. Hello?"

"Relax, Liar One," Tess laughed. "We'll save you a beer."

"That's not funny, Tess."

"I find it hilarious."

Tess ran up to Tobey as he stepped out of the car. She happily jumped on him and hugged him.

"Great win, Big Bro!"

"Thanks, Little Sis."

The group all went back to the garage to celebrate Tobey's victory. Tobey pulled out a few cans of beer and everyone clinked cans before taking small sips.

"That's what we do!" Joe exclaimed as he fist-bumped everyone. "That's right. Benny, my man."

"I thought you had him, brother," Tobey said quietly to Pete.

"Nah, I had him in the turns."

"Where were you?" Joe asked Benny. "We missed you, brother, we missed you."

"What do you mean?" Benny replied. "I was flying, watching your butts."

"You were flying?"

"Flying?" Tobey asked in mock surprise. "I didn't see him flying."

"Y'all gonna play me like that?" Benny asked, unamused.

"I didn't see him flying," Finn said.

"Did you see him flying?" Joe asked Tess.

"Nope, I didn't see him flying.

"Maybe you should ask the shopping cart guy if he saw you flying up there," Tobey said coyly.

"OHH!" everyone laughed in unison.

"Shots fired!" Benny laughed. "Boom, boom! So I'm supposed to watch out for cops, fly the plane, make sure you got a clear lane, and look out for homeless people coming out of the shadows?"

"Yes," Tess answered bluntly.

"I didn't get that memo, I'm sorry."

Their heads turned as a familiar car pulled up to the garage. Everyone's smiles quickly disappeared as Dino got out of the driver's seat and began approaching the group.

"He has a lot of nerve showing up here," Tess muttered.

"Nice driving," Dino said to Tobey. "I'm impressed. Tobey Marshall. The man to beat in Mount Kisco." He sighed as Tobey got up from his chair to face him. "Sorry about your old man. I know you were close."

"You, uh, lost, Dino?" Tobey asked coldly.

"What?"

"I mean, I haven't seen you around for a long time. I figured, you know, you must be lost."

"So, nothing has changed. After 10 years, you wanna just pick up some locker room fight."

"What do you want?"

"I wanna see you build a real car."

"I got plenty of cars to build, Dino."

Dino took a look around the garage smugly. "Yeah. How's that going for you?" Tobey took an angry step forward, but Dino held his hand out. "I didn't come to insult you. I came to make a business proposition. It could be a game-changer for you."

"Are you handing out dreams now, Dino?" Pete asked with a suave smile.

"I've seen a hundred custom racing shops since I left this town. I still haven't seen  
work as good as yours."

Tobey gestured to his friends behind him. "That's these guys. Not me."

"I have a very special car that needs to be finished."

"What kind of car are we talking about?" Joe asked.

"Ford Mustang."

Joe raised his eyebrows. "A Mustang?"

"Ooh," Finn said sarcastically.

Dino looked at him pointedly. "It's the one Ford and Carroll Shelby were building when Carroll died."

Tess's eyes widened a little as they all glanced at one another. _The_ Carroll Shelby? _His_ car?

"How did you get it?" Tobey asked.

"Mr. Shelby and my uncle, they were close," Dino told him. "You finish building my Mustang like you rebuilt that Gran Torino, I'll give you a quarter of what we get for the car."

Pete went up next to Tobey. "A quarter?"

"The car is worth 2 million. Minimum. That's $500,000 in your pocket. Forget about the past, Tobey, hmm? It's history. I'm here to make peace."

Tess raised her eyebrows a little, knowing full well that sentence wasn't over.

"And money."

There it was.

"Don't answer me now. Just think about it." Dino started to leave the garage.

"I don't need to think about it," Tobey said. "I'll do it."

"I'll get the car here tomorrow," Dino said without turning around. He got back into his car and drove away from the garage.

Benny watched Dino drive away and then turned back to Tobey. "Okay, um, I just wanna be the first to take the floor here and ask you, have you lost your mind? You're gonna have us work for Dino Brewster? Word?"

"What are you thinking, Tobey?" Joe asked. "You don't wanna have anything to do with that piece of crap."

"I gotta second with Joe on this one," Tess added.

"And, look, if this is about Anita, trying to get her back or something, do it another way, homie," Benny continued. "Write a poem or something. Okay? I'll help you out. 'Dear Anita, nothing is sweeter than Anita. I really a-need-a…Anita." Tess snapped her fingers as they all laughed. "And I just came up with that just now. Just now!"

Finn came up to Tobey with his usual smirk. "Yo, forget about that fool and his turtleneck. All right? Just tell him you're out. We're doing fine without him."

"We're not," Tobey said quietly. "Okay. We're not doing fine."

"What are you talking about?" Tess asked.

Tobey awkwardly rubbed the back of neck as he walked a few feet away from them. "Um…look, uh…I'm behind on the loan. That guy from earlier…that guy is from the bank. And he's just gonna keep coming back."

"Tobey, why didn't you tell me?" Tess said. "I've got some money saved up that I could give you." Everyone in the group gave her a pointed look. She rolled her eyes at them. "No, I did not hack to get it. Geez, you guys don't give me any credit."

Pete stood up and looked at the man he considered a brother. "Tobey, if you say we need him, then I'm with you."

"Wait," Finn interjected. "We made five grand tonight."

"It's gotta be enough to make the payment," Joe added.

"What about next month?" Tobey said desperately.

"We'll figure it out. We always do."

"This time, it's different, okay?" He walked back over and picked up his jacket. "If you guys don't show up tomorrow to work on that car, we're gonna lose this place."

They all watched Tobey leave the garage dejectedly.

"Hey, come on, guys," Pete told them. "This is Carroll Shelby. This is an opportunity of a lifetime."

"We're doing this," Joe said. "All right? For Tobey."

"Agreed," Tess put in. "For Tobey."

"9:30 tomorrow. Don't be late."


	3. Showing Off the Mustang

Everyone got to the garage bright and early so they could be ready for Dino to drop off the car. While they waited, Pete and Benny played Benny's new video game. Unsurprisingly, it was a racing game. Pete was winning by a landslide.

Tess was lounging on one of the reclining chairs, her feet hanging over the armrest as she ate out of another bag of sour gummy worms. She dropped one of them into Finn's mouth as he fiddled with his bass guitar.

"You're cheating, man," Benny said, attempting to disrupt Pete's focus by hitting his controller. "Quit cheating!"

Pete laughed. "You just can't keep up."

A truck pulled up to the garage with a covered car on the back of the bed.

"Here we go!" Tobey exclaimed.

The two boys immediately stopped their game as everyone got up to go see the car they were to work on.

"Yeah!" Finn exclaimed excitedly.

"All right, all right, all right," Tobey muttered to himself.

The man driving the truck took the tarp off the famous Mustang. Despite the fact that the car was merely a skeleton, excitement hit every single person on the team.

"Where's the rest of it?" Benny asked.

Tobey laughed as he hit Pete's chest. "We got a lot of work to do. Tess, you got those programs ready?"

Tess ate one of the gummy worms without taking her eye off the Mustang. "Do you even have to ask?"

* * *

It took a few weeks, but when the team was done with the car, it couldn't have been more amazing.

Tess had used one of her programs to figure out how to get the most out of the car and make it the best modified racing car out there. It had pretty much everything a racer needed. And the fact that it was _the_ Carroll Shelby's car made everything that much better. This was by far the best car the team had ever worked on.

Using her techno knowledge, Tess built up a great presentation for the gathered crowd at the big reveal party. She had some holographic mustang horses running in place in the center of the room. Then the horses morphed into shards of glass and floated over to where the car was. It outlined the car for a few seconds before the room went black and everyone could hear the engine revving. As the tarp came off the car, strobe lights went crazy all around it. Once the tarp was completely off, the strobes stopped and showed the modified Mustang in all its glory.

Everyone applauded as the light came up. The team all high-fived one another.

"Sick set-up, Big Sis," Pete praised.

"Thanks, Little Bro," Tess smiled as she closed her laptop.

Those in attendance went up to the car to admire the team's handiwork and decide if it was worth bidding on. As Tobey and Pete talked to various people who were interested in buying, Joe, Finn, and Tess headed over to the bar.

"Do you like that car over there?" Finn asked a woman who was several inches taller than him.

"Yeah, it's nice," she answered.

"Yeah. We built that."

"Oh. So, you're a mechanic." The woman sighed disinterestedly and turned away from him.

"That was real smooth, bro," Joe remarked.

Finn leaned onto the bar and looked at the two women sitting next to Joe and Tess, also much taller than he was. "Hey. Do you like that car over there?"

"Okay. Excuse me." Joe walked away from the bar as Tess smiled.

"We built that. We're mechanics. We're not afraid to get our hands dirty. Do you know what I mean?" The two women turned away from him as well. Finn cut his losses and went over to yet another woman. "Do you like that car over there?"

Tess smirked and hit Joe on the chest. "Watch this." She went over to where Finn was striking out again.

"Mechanic, huh?" the latest woman said with disdain.

"Yeah," Finn answered with a smile.

Tess seductively put her hands on Finn's arm and shoulder and smiled at him. "I happen to think mechanics are very hot. I mean, all that time working on cars makes them so buff and strong." She turned to the women. "You would not believe the muscles on these guys." She turned back to Finn. "Call me sometime." As she started to walk away, she said quietly in his ear, "You're welcome."

Tess walked back over to Joe and smiled. When they looked at Finn, he now had several women around him feeling his biceps.

"Girls are much more interested when they think they have competition," she smirked.

Joe smiled a little. "And you're not jealous at all?"

"Of them? No."

"Not even a little?"

Tess gave him a pointed look. "Despite what you all may think, Finn and I are just friends."

"Mm-hmm."

"Besides, I don't think he'd be interested anyway."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, look at him." Finn was now surrounded by girls who were all laughing like he was the funniest person on earth. "Those are more his style."

"They're all taller than him."

Tess laughed. "Maybe so, but that's who he's interested in."

"Yeah, but Tess—"

"Joe? Just drop it. There's nothing more between me and Finn."

Tess went over to Pete and Tobey who were looking at their handiwork.

"'Sup, Big Sis?" Pete smiled.

"Helping Finn score with the ladies. I swear, that man would be lost without me."

"We'd all be lost without you," Tobey told her.

"I know."

A petite blonde woman wearing a slimming black dress walked up to the three of them. She looked at the car and then back at them.

"How fast does it go?" she asked, revealing she had a British accent.

"Uh, fast. Very fast," Pete answered. He extended his hand for her to shake. "Pete."

The woman smiled and shook his hand. "Aren't all Mustangs fast?"

"Well, this one was built by Ford and reimagined by Carroll Shelby, the greatest performance car builder in American history."

"She's not from around here, Petey," Tobey said quietly. "So she probably has no idea who Carroll Shelby is."

"Hey, give her some credit," Tess told him. "She may very well know who Carroll Shelby is." She turned to the woman. "I'm Tess."

"Julia," the woman answered. "But why is it so fast?"

"It's 900 horsepower, baby," Pete smiled.

"Is that a lot?"

"Are—Are you kidding me?"

"Petey," Tobey muttered.

"Look, miss, this isn't the kind of car you can just go to the mall and buy. Trust me when I say it's one of a kind."

Julia nodded a little. "Can I see the engine?"

Pete raised his eyebrows with a smirk.

"Sure," Tobey said.

Pete pulled out his keys and popped the hood on the Mustang. The three of them walked over to it, and Pete proudly lifted up the hood for Julia to see what was under it.

Julia smirked. "5.8 liter, aluminum block, SVT supercharger, and racing headers. Yeah, it's quite nice, actually."

Pete, Tobey, and Tess all exchanged surprised glances.

"Told you to give her some credit," Tess said to the boys.

Pete smiled as he walked over to stand next to Tobey and Tess. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Nor was I," Tobey answered.

"Why?" Julia asked sharply. "Because I'm a woman? Or because I'm from England? Mr. Shelby's first Cobra was built using an AC body made in England. It had a Ford 260 CID V8 engine. Of course, you already knew that. Life can be full of surprises." She smiled broadly at the three of them.

"I find life to be full of people who think they're smart because they have a fancy accent," Pete said. Tobey grimaced at his friend's words. "No offense."

"Some taken."

"I really love Piers Morgan."

Tess smiled and shook her head.

"So, this is how it goes, is it?" Julia said. She looked over at Tobey. "You're very quiet, very tough, and then you're just constantly cracking these hilarious jokes. At least you've got this girl with you who has her head on straight."

Tess smiled at Julia and smirked at her 'brothers'.

"Hey, Jules," Dino said as he walked up behind the blonde woman. He awkwardly kissed her on the cheek.

"Three million is way too much for this car, Dino," Julia told him.

"Well, that's what it costs. Let's see what Ingram thinks."

"I am what Ingram thinks, and he thinks two at the most."

"Well, three is the number."

"Three is absurd. That's why nobody has bid on it."

"That's the best car I've driven since Indy."

"You haven't driven it, Dino," Pete put in. "Tobey's had the keys the whole time."

Tess and Julia laughed at his joke. Tess knew for a fact that it was true. Dino hadn't driven the car once.

"Do you want me to turn around and plug my ears while you all get on the same page?" Julia said as she continued to laugh. "What's the top speed?"

"180," Dino answered.

"230," Tobey said at the same time.

"230?" Julia asked.

"He's talking about a theoretical top speed," Dino explained.

Julia looked over at Tobey. "I know that you don't really talk, but maybe Mr. Strong-and-Silent could be a little less silent."

"She'll go 230," Tobey told her firmly.

"Top NASCAR speed ever was 228."

"This car is faster."

Julia stared him down for a few seconds. "8:00 a.m., tomorrow at Shepperton. You get anything close to 230 out of this car, Ingram is going to buy it on the spot."

"For 3 million," Dino interjected.

"Give or take a million. Mostly take. Good night, lads. And lady."

"Bye," Pete smiled.

Tess looked in the direction Julia had gone. "I like her."

"230?" Dino said in disbelief. "Are you crazy? What if I can't get the car there?"

"Well, maybe you can't, but I can," Tobey told him. "I'll drive."

"Don't even think about driving that car."

Tess shook her head again. Every day, she asked herself what she had ever seen in that guy. She put her hand on Tobey's shoulder. "Go show him who's boss. I have other commitments tomorrow, but promise you'll call me as soon as you can, and let me know how it went. Okay?"

"Sure thing."

"Promise?"

"I promise, Little Sis."

"Knowing you, I think tomorrow's going to be a good day."


	4. Pete's Death

Tess was lounging on the sofa in the garage, waiting for Tobey and Pete to return. Her laptop was sitting in front of her as she fiddled with her latest designs. She hoped that she could share her ideas with the others when they celebrated selling the Mustang. After all, Tobey was sure to get the care up to 230. She had no doubt about that.

Her phone buzzed next to her, and she saw that Finn was calling. She closed her laptop and stood up from the couch as she answered the call.

"Hey, Finn."

"Tess, it's Pete."

Tess smiled a little. "Uh-oh. What did he get himself into now?"

"Tess."

"I swear that boy is always getting into trouble."

"Tess!"

"What?"

"Pete's dead."

All of the air left Tess's lungs in one short exhale. She refused to believe that she had heard that correctly. Today was supposed to be an amazing day. A day where Tobey broke records and proved Dino wrong. It couldn't be the day Pete died.

"What?" she asked shakily. "What are you talking about?"

"He, Tobey, and Dino were racing, and Dino tapped the back of Pete's car. It caused Pete's car to go out of control. It caught fire and ran off the bridge. And…now Tobey's been arrested because Dino drove off and there's no evidence that he was ever there. They think Tobey's the reason Pete died."

Tess took the phone away from her ear as tears filled her vision.

"Tess? Tess?"

The phone slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground. Finally, all of the oxygen returned to her lungs, and she began wailing and crying and screaming. She sank to her knees, unable to stand any longer. Her fists hit the ground again and again until they were all bruised up. Tears flowed down her cheeks faster than they ever had or would again.

Her little brother was dead.

* * *

Everyone gathered at the cemetery as Pete's coffin was to be lowered into the ground. All the members of the team were in attendance, their eyes misting with tears but none of them allowing any to fall. The same didn't go for Tess. She was freely sobbing even harder than Anita.

Tobey wasn't there. He had been sentenced to two years in prison for vehicular manslaughter. Everyone believed that Tobey was responsible for Pete's death. Tobey Marshall, the sweetest guy Tess had even known, was believed to have killed their little brother.

"Fear not, for I am with you," the preacher read. "Be not dismayed, for I am your God. Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced. They shall be nothing. Those who war against you shall be as nothing. For I shall hold your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you'."

Dino put his arm around Anita, acting like he had had nothing at all to do with Pete's death.

The entire time, Joe glared daggers at him. First, he had broken his best friend's heart and now he had killed his other best friend while letting another go to prison. That was three hurt friends at Dino's hand, and that was three too many.

Tess was wearing a knee-length black dress, and her hair was pulled back by a black headband. The team members had never seen her look so…feminine. Under different circumstances, most of them probably would've given her a hard time since she never dressed up at all. But if this was what it took…they wished more than anything that Tess never had to dress up again.

Soon everyone began to disperse from the gravesite. Tess looked over at Dino and fury flooded every cell in her body.

She furiously began storming over to him.

"Tess, stop," Benny said.

Tess didn't stop. Nothing could make her stop. Dino looked her right in the eyes as she came over to him. Without any warning, Tess socked him hard on the cheek.

The other members of the team rushed over to her and began to pull her back as she screamed at him, "This is your fault! It's your fault! You did this! You did this! It's your fault!"

Finn firmly pulled her towards him, and she fell against him, sobbing against his chest. Benny and Joe gently put their hands on her back and shoulders as she cried. Joe glared at Dino once more, angry at him for hurting Tess yet again.

Dino rubbed the place where Tess's fist had made contact. He quickly began ushering Anita towards their car.

"What did she mean that this is your fault?" Anita asked.

"Everyone handles grief in different ways," Dino told her. "Tess looks for someone to blame."

Anita nodded a little, but there was something in the back of her mind that told her that Tess had a different reason for attacking Dino.

The group headed back to Tobey's garage for a couple of beers. Anything to ease the pain.

"That was stupid, Tess," Benny said to the girl.

"I don't care."

"You shouldn't have punched him at Pete's funeral."

"Why not?" Tess furiously demanded as she turned to face him. "He deserved it! We all know that Dino's the one who's responsible for killing Pete, and yet he's out roaming free while Tobey is in jail!"

"Pete and Tobey knew the risks when they started racing."

"Not these kinds of risks! They never could've prepared for this! Dino should _never_ have been at that funeral! He _killed_ Pete!"

"He didn't mean to."

"Oh, so now you're defending him?!"

"No, I'm just saying that Dino didn't plan for this to happen."

"Well, he just left my little brother there to burn while my big brother got escorted off to prison! I will _never_ forgive him for that!"

"Tess, we'll figure this out one way or another," Joe said.

Tess shook her head. "No, forget it. I'm done." She began to walk out of the garage.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Finn called after her.

She angrily spun around. "I mean I'm done! I'm out."

With that, Tess turned her back on the garage and her team.

* * *

"Hey, Little Sis," Tobey said from the other side of the glass.

"Hi, Tobey," Tess said into the phone. "How are you holding up?"

"About as well as you it looks like."

Tess nodded a little. It was true, she looked awful. It had been a little over a year since Pete's death, and things had not improved even a little in her life.

Her appearance usually didn't look very great ever since that day. She hadn't gotten much sleep in months nor had she been eating very well. It had started to show after only a few weeks. Her body had gotten even thinner than it already was, and she constantly looked drained. Her coworkers could see her eyes watering every now and again as she sat at her work station, but no one could say anything to ease the pain.

Ever since she had walked out on the team, almost all communication with them had stopped. It wasn't really intentional, it had just happened.

She had visited Tobey a couple times in prison. She wanted to go more, but with work and her constant state of depression, she never got around to it.

"How are you and Finn?" Tobey asked.

Tess scoffed. "Only you would be here and ask me about my relationship status."

"Well?"

"Uh, we see each other in passing at work, and we used to get lunch together sometimes, but lately…we haven't really talked much. Everything just…changed."

"My garage?"

"Just been foreclosed…" She lightly put her hand to the glass. "You don't deserve to be in here."

"Yeah…"

"If we could just find evidence that Dino was there, then we could get you out of here. I tried to hack into his server to see if I could find anything, but he has a million firewalls up that would take me years to get through. And I don't know if the information is even on that server."

"A computer you couldn't hack into? I never thought I'd see the day."

Tess gave him a small smile. "Well, Dino knows me and what I can do. He knows how to keep me out. I'm sorry, Tobey. I feel like I've failed you again."

"What do you mean 'again'?"

"I should've been there that day…"

"Tess, you didn't even know about the race. I never called you."

"No. But Pete did. He wanted me to see you guys beat Dino. If I had just gone…"

"Tess, look at me. I'm glad you weren't there that day. Because you would've just gone to prison too. Prison's no place for someone like you. And you would've seen Pete…" He faltered a little bit at the mention of their little brother. "I wouldn't wish that sight on anyone, especially my little sister."

Tess sighed heavily, knowing he had a good point. "I miss you."

Tobey put his hand to the glass, and Tess put her hand where his was. "I miss you too. Just hang on a little longer, okay?"

"Okay. See you later, Big Bro."

"Bye, Little Sis."

* * *

Tess met up with Benny during her lunch break after he had called her insisting that they had to meet.

"Are you all nuts?!" Tess exclaimed when he told her the team's latest plan.

Apparently, Tobey was going to race again as soon as he got out of prison in a few weeks. His plan was to do anything it took to get into De Leon and prove his innocence. Tess was all for proving that Dino was the one responsible for Pete, but not like this.

"The last time he raced, Pete died, and he went to jail!" she continued. "He's going to break parole as soon as he gets out and go _racing_?!"

"Come on, Tess. Joe and I are on board already."

"And Finn?"

"Well…no, not yet, but—"

"Yeah, because he finds this as ridiculous as I do! Benny, I've already lost one brother. I'm not about to lose another one."

"Tess—"

"No! If you guys seriously want to do this, you're going to have to do it without me."

She turned and stormed back to her job, refusing to give Benny a second glance.


	5. The Best Way to Quit

Finn was putting information on his computer in the cubicle at the accounting firm where he worked when Joe's face filled his phone screen. His eyes widened a little as the set ringtone began to play loudly. Before anyone noticed, he quickly pressed the 'Decline' button.

Only a few more seconds passed before the phone rang again with the same ringtone.

Finn quickly answered the phone before he got in trouble. "Dude, stop calling me, okay? We've already had this conversation."

"Grab Tess and go to the window," Joe said bluntly.

"No." Finn's eyebrows furrowed as he processed what his friend was telling him what to do. "Why?"

"Just grab Tess and go to the window. Quit being a little jerk."

Finn sighed and stood up from his chair. "You're the jerk."

He quickly made his way over to the IT department where Tess worked. It was no secret that she absolutely hated her job. Everyone knew that she should be the head of the department because the actual head was a moron. Tess could do pretty much everything on a computer better than he could. What was worse was that he never listened to what she had to say and believed that he was always in the right. He was the most impossible man to work with.

"Hey," Finn said as he got to Tess's work station. "Come on."

She looked up at him hardly. "I'm working."

"Just come on."

He grabbed her arm and yanked her out of her chair.

"This better be good," she muttered.

The two of them went over to the window and looked at the ground below. Right in front of the building was the Mustang they had built two years ago and behind it was the Beast. The Mustang engine was revving causing all heads in the vicinity to turn at the loud noise.

Finn and Tess looked at each other in confusion.

A police car pulled up next to the Mustang. It stayed there for a few moments as the police officer conversed with Tobey who continued to rev the engine.

"Finn, are you both there?" Joe asked.

"We're here," Finn answered.

"All right. Don't mind the cop. That's not the problem. Watch how the car leans as he pulls away. That's our problem."

Joe gave the OK sign to Tobey, and the Mustang sped off around the block. Tess and Finn watched in amazement. The car handled pretty nicely. But not nicely enough.

"The car is loose," Finn remarked.

"Yeah, I know," Joe said. "Thank you for that. If Tobey runs that setup in De Leon, he won't finish, let alone win."

Finn pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at Joe's video chat on the screen. "He's in?"

Joe smiled. "Maybe. Look, we have a plan."

"And what does that mean?"

"It means we know what we're doing. Get your butts down here!"

Finn looked at Tess and smiled broadly.

"Uh-oh," she said with a small smile herself. "What are you thinking?"

Tess followed Finn as he walked back through the halls of the accounting firm. He whipped off his tie and then took off his shoes revealing the multi-colored socks he had on.

"Finn!" one of their coworkers called. "Finn, you okay, buddy?"

"Uh, Finn?" Tess said. "What are you doing?"

Finn didn't answer her. He continued walking down the hall as he whipped off his business jacket and threw it on the ground. Then to her surprise, he whipped off the blue button-up shirt he was wearing.

"Oh, my—Finn, what are you doing?!"

"Quitting."

"Okay, well there's a more formal process you go through for that."

"Come on, Tess, lighten up."

Tess glared at his backside and quickly pulled him into one of the empty rooms next to them. People passing by peeked in curiously, wondering why she was in there with a shirtless man.

"'Lighten up'?"

Finn shrugged his shoulders. "Just come on."

"Okay. Not everyone is as comfortable with their bodies as you are. I mean, look at you. You look amazing."

And it was true. Finn did have a rather defined chest that she definitely didn't know he had. His tanned skin really accented it all too.

Finn took a small step closer to her. "Checking me out?"

Tess glared at him and didn't respond as she clenched her jaw. She was not in the mood for his little quips.

Finn laughed lightly. "Tess, you're young, you're hot, you've got a sexy bod. Come on. Live a little." When she still didn't say anything, he asked, "Can you honestly tell me that you actually like this job?"

Tess looked up at him. "You know, I did always hate having to wear these heels." She undid her heels and let her feet sink into the ugly brown carpet. "And I really don't like wearing pantyhose." She took the pantyhose off her legs. "You know, I really hate this whole get-up."

The two of them smiled at each other as they both exited the room. Tess undid her black business jacket and shrugged it off to reveal her black cami underneath. She then took that off as well so that just her lace bra was showing.

The two of them tossed the cami, blue shirt, and black jacket to a man and woman standing in the hallway.

"Casual Friday," Finn remarked.

As Finn undid his belt and took off his pants revealing his blue boxers, Tess shrugged off her tight black pencil skirt.

By now, the two of them were in the accounting firm hallway in just their underwear.

Finn looked over at the woman they had passed. "Jacki. Oh, Jacki."

"No. Finn—" Jacki started.

Finn went up to her and took her head in his hands before kissing her full on the lips, standing on his tip-toes to do so. He wrapped his arms around her body, forbidding her from stopping the kiss too soon.

Tess let out a small laugh as he pulled away, deciding to ignore some kind of stabbing feeling in the bottom of her stomach.

"I've always wanted to do that," he confessed.

Jacki looked at him sharply.

"Tess!"

Tess turned to find the head of the IT department storming over to her, his tablet in hand as always. She wondered if Candy Crush was on there like it usually was. After all, he never did any real work.

"Put your clothes back on and get back to your computer this instant!"

Tess smirked and began walking over to him. "Your CPU is from the Stone Age, the amount of syntax errors you make in an hour could make a person with perfect vision go blind, and I can create a whole Web browser from scratch faster than you can eat all those Twinkies and cupcakes hidden in your office. You are an idiot!"

She grabbed his tablet from him and smashed it against the wall where the screen shattered completely. She turned around and smiled at Finn.

"I've always wanted to do _that_!"

As she walked back over to him, she took her hair out of her tight ponytail and let it fall down around her shoulders. They continued down the hall when Finn stopped and pulled down his boxers.

Tess's eyes widened as she smiled and looked up and away. The entire office gasped behind them.

"Have a nice day, you miserable dirtbags!" Finn said to his coworkers.

He looked over at Tess, but she shook her head. "I'm stopping here."

Finn turned and continued down the hall. Tess ran after him and jumped on his back…being extra careful to not let her legs go anywhere below his waist.

For the first time in two years, she laughed. Really laughed.

Finn set her down as they got to the elevator. When it opened, he took her hand and they joined an older woman who gasped when she saw the two young adults.

"Our friend is running the fastest Mustang in the world at De Leon on Sunday and the setup is all wrong," Finn said to the woman.

"I'm in accounting," the woman said quietly.

"Oh," he sighed in sympathy. "Don't you feel like you're dying inside?"

"Yes."

"I recommend quitting while you can," Tess told her. "And get creative when you do it! It's totally worth it!"

The elevator doors opened again, and Finn grabbed Tess's hand as they bolted out to find Joe while the woman awkwardly went in the other direction.

"Where's the Beast?" Finn asked his friend.

Joe froze as he saw the two of them in their state of undress. "What the…Where are your guys' clothes?"

"Did you miss this?"

Joe started running away from Finn who chased after him. "No, I didn't miss—Don't touch me, man. Stay away! We gotta go, let's go."

"You missed me, didn't you?"

"No." Finn jumped on him. "Get off!"

Tess laughed as she followed the two of them out to the front of the building.

"I've got the shaved bird and the queen bee," Joe said to Tobey over the phone. "We're jumping in the Beast."

"All right, we're behind," Tobey told him. "We got 28 hours to get to Cali."

"Copy that."

A woman walking into the building froze at the sight of Finn and Tess.

"Good morning," Finn said casually.

"So why the heck are you guys naked?" Joe demanded.

"To make sure we'd never come back.

"I'm sure you could've done that another way."

"That's what I told him," Tess said. "But look where we are now."

"Let's be clear, though, you're not wearing my underwear."

Tess and Finn smiled at each other as they hopped into the Beast and drove down the road so they could meet up with Tobey and the Mustang once he lost the cops.


	6. Finn and Tess are Back

"So we got into your place and swiped some new clothes for you," Joe said, tossing back a change of clothes for Tess.

"How did you get into my apartment?" Tess asked in disbelief.

"It's not that hard for me to pick a lock."

"That's so scary. Did you get my laptop too?"

"You wouldn't be any use to us without it."

"Gee, thanks. Love you too."

Tess threw on her skinny jeans, the loose t-shirt with 'Work Hard, Dream Big' on the front in large letters, and her black converse shoes. It was a thousand times better than wearing that awful business get-up.

"WNKW with a question for Tobey Marshall," Benny's voice came across the Beast's radio from the news station helicopter. "On a scale from one to ten, how crazy hot is your passenger?"

"Wait, passenger?" Tess asked.

"Yeah, Julia came along," Joe answered.

"Really?"

"She didn't really give us much of a choice."

"Like my new wheels?" Benny continued. "Awesome, right?"

"What happened to the Cessna?" Tobey asked.

"Flight restrictions in the city, man. But it's all good. I borrowed my buddy's little bird. Let me get a hard right. Y'all lucky, I almost got my hands on that Apache from Great Lakes Army Air Base, but, uh, Colonel Gatins was sweating me hard."

"Here we go again," Joe said into the radio.

"Not talking to you, Beast."

Finn took the radio from Joe. "Roger that, Liar One."

"Finn, you're back in the crew for all of 10 minutes and you're already up my skirt talking crap. Man, you're gonna rue the day you started calling me that."

"What, did you all of a sudden go to college, fool?"

"Wow. What a really ignorant thing to say. Man, are you ignorant."

"Is it gonna be like this the entire way?" Julia's voice asked.

Tess grabbed the radio from Finn. "You get used to it. Hey, Julia."

"Hi, Tess."

"I'm glad you're back, Little Sis," Tobey smiled as he tried to avoid the police cars.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I'm glad to be back."

Tess opened up her laptop in the back of the Beast and hacked into Tobey's video feed so she could see where he was and what he was doing.

"Hey, Liar One, eyes on the road," Tobey told Benny.

"Wow!" Benny exclaimed as he almost hit a bridge. "I did not see that!"

"Benny, were you looking at girls' butts again?" Tess asked. "You're such a pervert. People like you are the reason we have feminists."

"That's rather hurtful, Tess."

"But it's the truth, Liar One."

"All right, between you and Finn, I'm going to slap you both upside the head."

The three passengers in the Beast laughed together at Benny's reaction to the nickname he hated so much.

"All right, Beauty, this is gonna sound insane, but I need a two-lane grasshopper in order to get these guys off your back," Benny told Tobey.

"Roger," Tobey answered.

"What's a grasshopper?" Julia asked.

"You may wanna close your eyes for this."

"Is it worse than 'Bus, bus, bus'?"

"You got this, Tobey!" Tess told the driver of the Mustang.

"All right," Benny said. "Now, just aim for the trees. Spread your wings, Beauty!"

Tess watched from her computer as Tobey drove up the hill and flew across two lanes of traffic before landing in the grass on the other side and getting back on the road.

"Hey, hey!" Benny laughed.

Tess smiled. "That's my big brother."

"What just happened?" Julia asked in amazement. "You're amazing. I can't believe we're alive."

"Okay, got to go," Benny muttered. "Time's up in the bird."

"That was amazing. You're amazing. We are amazing."

"Liar One, are you tracking that air bear heading to I-94?" Tobey asked. "If he spots me, it's game over. We're gonna need to switch to plan B."

"Plan B adds an hour to the trip," Finn said.

"No choice, we're gonna have to make up that time."

"Roger that," Joe answered. "Plan B it is."

"Beauty will go bingo on that route, so we're gonna have to hot fuel and top off."

"Hot fuel, coming up! Whoo!" Joe smiled and looked over at Finn. "Get out there, skinny boy."

"Oh, you were checking me out!" Finn joked.

Tess rolled her eyes again as he climbed out the window and on top of the moving truck so he could refuel the Mustang without stopping.

The Mustang pulled up next to the Beast. Finn readied the fuel pump in the back and then leaned over to reach the gas tank on the Mustang. Unfortunately, he couldn't get the door to the gas tank open.

Julia climbed out of her own window and the scarf tied around her head flew off from the wind, lost forever on the highway. She reached over and pounded on the door until it opened.

"Closer!" she yelled to Tobey.

Tobey moved the Mustang over closer to the Beast until she could grab the fuel nozzle from Finn. She then took and it and jammed it into the gas tank before giving him the OK sign.

"Whoo!" Finn exclaimed as he began to pump gas into the moving Mustang. "I got this! Go inside!"

Julia climbed back into the Mustang and rolled up the window.

"Hey, Beast, take the shoulder," Tobey said to Joe. "I'll go with you."

"Roger that, Beauty," Joe answered.

The Beast and the Mustang moved over onto the shoulder of the highway so they could drive past a large camper in the other lane.

"I need eyes on that bear in the air, Liar One," Tobey said. "What's your 20?"

"Still on the ground, Beauty," Benny told him.

Finn finished pumping the gas and removed the nozzle from the car before closing the door to the gas tank.

"You're good!" he yelled, giving a thumbs-up to Julia. "Yeah, yeah!"

The Mustang powered ahead of the Beast and took the exit that would lead Tobey south and off the cops' trail.

"Thanks, boys!" Tobey exclaimed. "Beauty is a redneck."

"Roger that," Joe answered. "Beast loves a redneck."

Finn climbed on top of the Beast and faced forward, letting the wind whip through his clothes and hair. "Whoo! YEAH!"

Tess poked her head out the back window. "Alright, Evel Knievel, get back in here before you kill yourself!"

Finn smirked and got back into the passenger seat of the Beast. "If that's not on your bucket list, put it on there."

A police helicopter drove above them heading down the highway, looking for Tobey. Tess smiled. They were going to be disappointed.

Joe picked up his radio. "Bear in the air is fangs-out down I-94. Beauty, you are safe and sound."

"Joe, give me your phone," Tess said. "I'm going to use it as a hotspot so I can get Wi-Fi."

"Oh, come on. You're gonna use up all my data."

"Hey, you wanted me along, so let me do what I do. Phone. Now."

Joe begrudgingly pulled out his phone and handed it to her. "My password is—"

"Oh, I know your password already. I hacked your phone within the first two days I met you."

"Wait, what?"

"Well, I had to know who I was getting involved with. I hacked all your phones."

"Wait, _what_?" Finn exclaimed, spinning around in his seat to look at her.

Tess just smirked at him with a knowing smile. She unlocked Joe's phone and then set up a hotspot. She then connected her laptop up to the phone and pulled up Monarch's live webcast.

"Kids, I'm looking at something that I can't quite believe," the racing mogul said as he looked at his news feed.

Tobey, Joe, and Benny had all uploaded videos to his computer of Tobey driving the Mustang all around the city…including his incredible 'grasshopper'.

"I mean, my inbox is white hot. I got a bunch of trolls sending me footage of something that is mind-blowing. I'm looking at footage of a car that supposedly disappeared. That's the same car that Ford and Shelby were building when Carroll died. I'm looking at a gorgeous ghost. And I think that's Tobey Marshall inside there, driving a chariot of the gods. So I bow down to Tobey Marshall." Tess smiled up at Joe and Finn. "Dino Brewster is on the line right now."

The smile quickly left her face. "Ugh…"

"Dino! Dino, Dino bambino in San Francisco. You need to see what I'm looking at. I'm looking at some aerial footage of Tobey Marshall flying across the country with the cops in tow in a phantom Ford that will make your bowels loose."

"Tobey Marshall doing something stupid and reckless again?" Dino asked over the line smugly. "Didn't that guy just get out of prison for manslaughter?"

Tess gritted her teeth angrily. Dino was practically rubbing it in their faces that he had gotten off scot-free for killing her little brother.

"Whoa!" Monarch exclaimed. "Dino, Dino, bambino. Hey, accidents happen in racing. Nobody knows that better than you, Dino, remember?"

Dino laughed. "I just don't wanna see him race at De Leon. You know, in fact, I'm willing to give up my…I'm willing to give up my Elemento to anyone that puts a stop to Tobey Marshall."

"What?!" Tess exclaimed. "He's seriously stooping that low?"

"Dirtbag," Finn muttered.

"He's just scared because he knows that Tobey is a better racer than he is."

"Wait a minute," Monarch said. "Wait a minute, did you just say what I think you said? That car is one of three in the world. You're willing to give away your Lamborghini to stop Tobey Marshall?"

"Yes, I am," Dino replied. "And I'm gonna post some pictures online so everybody knows exactly what they're looking for."

Pictures of the car Dino was giving away and Tobey's Mustang surfaced on the webcast. "He's not lying," Tess told the others. "The pictures are up for everyone to see."

"This is too good," Monarch continued. "This is too good. I got star-crossed lovers hauling their butts across the country. I got Dino Brewster, who just painted a huge bull's-eye on their butts. Oh, man. Christmas came early, wing nuts. The thing you gotta understand is, racing is an art. Racing with passion…Dude, that's high art. Man, I can feel love and vengeance and smell motor oil all swirling together out there. We got supernatural Mustangs, we got personal vendettas. I have no idea where this is going. I just know I like it. I like it a lot!" Monarch pressed a button and took a caller. "Go ahead."

"Monarch, this is the blonde female sitting right next to Tobey Marshall," Julia's voice came across.

"Wait, is that Julia?" Tess asked in surprise.

Monarch scoffed. "Really? Okay. We got a girl with a fake British accent, claiming she's sitting next to Tobey Marshall."

"Uh-oh…"

Monarch put on an overdramatic British accent to mock Julia. "Having a spot of tea, are you, dove?"

"There were three cars in the race the day that Pete died, that's a fact," Julia told him sharply. "And anyone that says that Tobey is responsible for Pete's death, answer this. Why jump parole in New York knowing that you are going to be re-arrested and do serious time unless you are innocent and hell-bent to right a wrong? He did the time, he paid the debts, why would he risk it? Next time you talk to Dino, you can ask him that question."

Tess smiled at her fellow passengers. "I knew I liked her."

"I like this girl!" Monarch exclaimed. "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah, the British are coming. I gotta tell you, I'm moved. I am. The whole thing just went right here to the old ticker. I gotta pop one of these." He took a couple of the pills sitting on his desk. "Yeah. This is getting good. I believe you, you crazy little tart. Tobey Marshall versus Dino Brewster. That's a deep rivalry right there. Yeah. I hear you, honey. I hear you. The two of you out there, flying across the country at killer speeds to prove something while you're tearing up the American asphalt. Born to run, baby. Born to run. Tobey Marshall, welcome to the De Leon."

"YES!" Tess yelled as she put her hands to her mouth.

Everyone in the Beast began cheering loudly.

"That's it, cretins, De Leon is full. But if you want Dino Brewster's Lamborghini, you're gonna have to chase down that Mustang to get it. Wow. The race before the race. I love it."

Monarch laughed before pressing another button and ending his webcast. The invitation popped up on the screen Tess had hacked into.

"He just got the invite!" she told Joe and Finn. She reached up and grabbed the radio. "By the way, Julia, I loved the way you told off Monarch!"

"Beauty!" Benny exclaimed from his Cessna. "Congrats on the wild card to the rodeo, my friend. Your route is clear to the Nebraska border. Darkness is upon us, so the eyes in the sky will be shut for a while. But I'm gonna leapfrog ahead and meet you guys at Record Breaker."

"What's your 20, Liar One?" Finn asked.

"Flat-hatting you! Ha ha!"

Everyone in the Beast flinched as Benny soared right over top of the large truck before flying directly in front of them on the road. Finn and Tess started laughing.

"Special delivery," Benny laughed. "I hope you ladies didn't soil your panties down there."

"I hate it when he does that!" Joe exclaimed.

"That's what I thought. Keep talking that crap."

"Nice to see you haven't changed, nimrod," Finn said to him.

"Okay, listen. I don't know who 'nimrod' is, but I'm pretty sure he lived in the 50s. All right? My handle is Maverick. You better ask somebody."

Tess laughed as she shook her head. She hadn't realized just how much she missed spending time with the team until they were all together again.

With a contented sigh, she closed her laptop and turned off the hotspot on Joe's phone.

"Alright, I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted," she told her passengers. "I'm going to get some sleep back here."

She set her laptop on the floor of the truck and stretched out across the backseat. Before long, she was out cold.


	7. Tess Drives the Beast

As Tess slept in the back, Joe noticed that Finn kept glancing at her every half-hour.

Joe smiled a little. "Hey man, I know we usually don't have serious conversations…but why don't you just tell her how you feel?"

Finn once again looked back at Tess's sleeping form. How could he tell her how much he cared for her after what she had seen him do with Jacki?

Although the team always joked about it, there really was something more between them. Neither of them had ever fully admitted it to themselves.

He knew how beat up Tess was about Pete's death and Tobey going to prison. Every time he tried to call her and ask how she was doing, he chickened out. Even at work when he passed by her, he wouldn't say anything, despite the fact that he was worried sick each time he saw her look just a little bit thinner and a little bit wearier. The two of them hardly ever did anything but joke around. The fact of the matter was that he wasn't sure he knew how he was supposed to comfort her. He had proven that at Pete's funeral.

Today had been the first day he had ever seen her really smile since Pete died. He had forgotten just how beautiful her smile really was. And her laugh…It was like music to his ears. Music he hadn't heard in far, far too long.

Tess awoke a few hours later when Joe stopped at a gas station. Finn was conked out in the passenger seat.

"Perfect," she said. "I'm starving. I'm gonna grab something to eat."

"Make it quick," Joe told her. "We gotta make sure we get there before Tobey does."

Tess ran inside and grabbed a sandwich and a bag of chips. She quickly scarfed it all down which was something she hadn't done with food in quite a while. Then she began heading back out to the Beast.

Joe rubbed his eyes drowsily as he finished pumping the gas.

"Joe," Tess said gently. "You look exhausted. Why don't you let me drive for a few hours? I've just had the best sleep I've gotten in two years."

"I don't know, Tess…"

"Tobey's never going to forgive you if you drive while you're tired and get us all killed."

Joe laughed lightly. "I suppose you're right." He handed her the keys. "You better get us there okay."

"Relax. Contrary to the stereotype, I am a wonderful driver. I have to be if I'm working around you guys all the time. I'd never hear the end of it."

Joe traded places with Tess and slept in the backseat for the next few hours.

Finn rubbed his eyes as he awoke from his own sleep.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Tess said.

"Wait, Joe let you drive the Beast?"

"What does it look like?"

"Joe never lets me drive the Beast."

"I guess he just loves me more than you. I am a lot more lovable."

"Keep telling yourself that."

Tess looked over at him for a second with a smile. It was nice to be back to their old shameless flirting days.

The two of them continued talking with each other for a while as Tess continued down the highway.

"Beast!" Tobey exclaimed over the radio. "I need you to meet us at the Bonneville International Speedway and fast!"

Tess picked up the radio. "Roger that, Beauty."

"Tess?! Are you driving the Beast?"

"Okay, how hard is it to believe that I can drive this truck?"

"No, it's just that Joe is usually so picky about who drives that thing."

Tess smirked at Finn. "So I've heard."

Finn pulled up the Speedway on the Beast's GPS. "Get off Exit 4 and then just keep going down."

"Exit 4? I'll need to speed things up a little then."

Tess gunned the gas and sped down the highway. Finn lurched in his seat from the sudden propulsion. She changed lanes several times and maneuvered past all the cars around her. The sudden jerks of the truck caused Joe to wake up in the backseat.

"Tess, what are you doing?!"

"Hold on," Tess smiled.

Tess veered off on Exit 4 way faster than anyone should drive on an exit. She was forced to take a hard right which made Finn and Joe smash into the side of the car. She drove down the road for a couple miles before making another hard turn onto the Speedway.

Tess floored it down the long road much to the protests of the other passengers. After all, the road came to a complete end after only a couple miles. Finally, Tess slammed on the brakes and swerved the truck at the end of the Speedway just before she hit the water.

Joe hopped out of the truck as fast as he could and began inspecting every inch of it.

"Joe, it's a truck," Tess said as she and Finn got out. "Get over it."

"That is the last time you drive the Beast," Joe told her.

"I'll have you know that you were asleep for almost the entire time I drove! Tobey said we needed to get here fast, so I got here fast! And do you see a single scratch on this truck? I don't think so!"

She hopped up into the bed of the truck then climbed on top and looked up at the sky.

"That cloud kinda looks like a horse," she remarked.

Finn climbed onto the truck and sat next to her. "That one looks like a rabbit."

"No, it doesn't."

"Yeah, see, there's the ears, and there's the tail."

"Dude, it looks more like a piece of cotton candy than a rabbit."

"You have no imagination."

Tess scoffed as she looked up again. "Oh, that one looks like a…car hanging from an army helicopter."

Joe and Finn looked up and saw a huge army helicopter flying over to them with the Mustang attached to it by a couple of cables hanging down from it. There was only one person who could be capable of that…

"I guess we can't call him Liar One anymore," Tess laughed.

Tobey stuck his fist out of the passenger window and starting cheering.

"Yeah!" Finn yelled. "Whoo!"

"Yeah, Tobey!" Joe called. "Hey, Benny! We believe you, baby! We believe you, Maverick!"

Benny brought the helicopter over to the very end of the Speedway and touched the Mustang down on the ground.

"Look at me!" Julia screamed excitedly from the driver's seat.

"We're good!" Tobey called up to Benny.

"Whoo!"

The cables released from the Mustang and the helicopter flew upwards.

Tess hopped off the truck and ran over to the Mustang as fast as she could. Tobey got out of the car just as she got over to him and practically tackled him into a huge hug. She firmly wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms tightly around her small waist in the first contact they had shared in two years.

Everyone smiled as 'brother' and 'sister' were reunited once more.

"Are you guys okay?" Joe asked as Tess finally released him.

"Yeah," Tobey answered.

Two army planes soared past the helicopter.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to go away for a while, y'all," Benny said from the helicopter. "But Benny always comes back. Godspeed, boys. Godspeed."

"Hey, Tess," Tobey smiled. "Swiped these for you." Tess laughed as he tossed her a bag of sour gummy worms. "You can thank Julia for those."

"Thanks, Julia," Tess said. She smiled and hugged Tobey again. She had really, really missed him.

Tobey looked over at the Mustang that was now caked in red dirt from the previous car chase he and Julia had gone through. "Well…"

"Yeah, I mean, we can make a run, but…" Joe started.

Tobey turned back to the others. "Let's do our best."

He started to walk away, but Joe stopped him. "We heard about your cop friend getting chained back in Nebraska."

"Benny's gonna be in the brig in about 10 minutes," Finn added.

"There's an APB out for your arrest in at least 10 states right now."

"What's your point?" Tobey asked.

"Maybe we should rethink the plan."

Tobey looked at his fellow team members and at his worn Mustang. He met eyes with Tess, but he couldn't fully read her expression. He then turned back to face Joe. "Dino took everything from me. From us. Including Pete. Pete got put into the ground, and Dino went off to sunny California like nothing happened. You boys do whatever you think is right…but I'm never gonna stop."

Tess looked at the others. If she knew one thing, Tobey was going to do this with or without them. And if he was going to do this, she wanted to be there for him.

"We're doing this," Tess said, echoing Joe's words two years ago when they were going to work on the Mustang in the first place. "For Tobey. And for Pete."

Joe nodded a little. "For Tobey and Pete."

"For Tobey and Pete," Finn added.


	8. Car Wreck

Finn fueled up the Mustang again using the pump in the back of the Beast, and then they all hit the road again.

Joe got behind the wheel of the Beast, forbidding Tess from driving it again.

Tess stretched out across the backseat and opened up her laptop. After setting up a hotspot again on Joe's phone, she left open the video feed from Tobey's Mustang and started researching certain devices that she knew she would need in the very near future.

Late that night once the Beast had reached California, a small ding sounded on Tess's computer.

"He just checked in," Tess told the others. "Start time is 9:00 AM, location is Mendocino Highway 85."

"So this is really happening," Joe said. "Tobey's finally racing De Leon."

Tess sighed. "I really wish Pete were here for this."

"Yeah. We all do."

"Beast," Tobey said over the radio. He let out a painful groan. "We've been hit."

"Wait, what?" Tess exclaimed. She closed her eyes as realization hit her. "The bounty…"

Joe picked up the radio. "All right, we're on our way. We're on our way. Track them."

"I'm on it," Finn said. He quickly pulled up the Mustang's location on the truck's GPS.

"Where is he?"

"He's up on California and Mason. Make a left."

"Tess, what do you see?"

Tess furiously typed information onto her computer to gain access to the Mustang's video feed again, but all her attempts failed. "I-I don't know. I-I can't see anything. The camera on the Mustang must've smashed."

She started breathing quickly, fearing the worst. Joe floored the gas and drove to the crash site as fast as he could.

"Units, be advised, getting report of a vehicle roll-over," the police scanner said. "115 Nob Hill."

When the Beast turned onto the street, they saw Tobey carrying an unconscious Julia down the road.

"Oh my…" Tess whispered.

"Open the door," Joe ordered. "We gotta let them in."

Tess quickly shut her laptop. The Beast slowed and Tess opened the door for him.

"Yo, we gotta move," Finn said quickly. "Cops are coming. Came in over the scanner. We gotta go! Come on, man. We gotta go."

Tess helped Tobey get Julia into the backseat before he hopped in himself. He held Julia in his arms as he began stroking her hair.

Tess looked at her two friends. Tobey's face had a couple of cuts, but Julia had been hit hard. Her face was bleeding heavily and she was drifting in and out of consciousness. Tess held her hand as she looked up at Tobey.

She looked out the window and saw the overturned, smashed Mustang with smoke pouring from the destroyed vehicle. It was a miracle they had even survived.

"Tobey, you guys good?" Finn asked.

"We need a hospital," Tobey told him keeping his eyes on Julia.

"Find a hospital," Joe said quickly. "Find a hospital."

"I'm working on it," Finn answered. He searched for hospitals on the GPS. "All right, I got a hospital on Hill. Make a left."

"Tobey, I'm so sorry," Tess said quietly. "I never thought Dino would go this far."

The Beast pulled up right in front of the Emergency Room. Finn bolted out of the truck and went over to the paramedics who were walking towards their ambulance.

"Wait!" he cried. "We need your help!"

Tobey carefully got Julia out of the truck and carried her over to the awaiting stretcher the paramedics had readied, Joe and Tess right behind him.

"What's her name?" one of the paramedics asked Tobey. "Did she ever lose consciousness?"

"Uh, Julia," Tobey answered numbly. "Yeah, she's-she's been in and out."

Tess and Finn helped the paramedics push the gurney inside.

"You two stay with her, all right?" Tobey said.

"We will," Finn told him.

"Take care of her."

Tobey and Joe ran back to the Beast before anyone found out who Tobey was. The last thing they needed at the moment was him getting arrested.

"We need you two to wait out here," the paramedic said to Tess and Finn. "We're going to take a look at her."

Tess and Finn reluctantly watched Julia get wheeled away before heading over to the Waiting Room.

Tess collapsed onto one of the chairs and held her head in her hands. That part of her that had been showing itself ever since Pete's death screamed at her for getting involved with racing again. It berated her for knowing the risks, especially with Dino's arrogance in the way, and getting back together with everyone anyway.

The other part of her knew how much fun these past two days had been. It had been exhilarating to strip in the accounting firm with Finn. It had been amazing to tell off her idiot boss and smash his tablet. It had been exciting to help Tobey and Julia escape the cops. It had been fun to talk with Finn and have their infamous banter with one another. It had been thrilling to drive the Beast for the first time.

It had been wonderful to eat and sleep normally again.

But now sitting in the Emergency Waiting Room, she began questioning if it was all worth it. If they hadn't done this, Julia would be fine and so would Tobey. The cops wouldn't be hunting the two of them down. Sure, they both survived this time, but what about the next psycho who followed Dino's orders? Tess didn't know if she could handle losing Pete _and_ Tobey.

Finn came and sat down in the chair next to Tess but didn't say anything. What could he possibly say to her in this kind of situation? He knew how reluctant she had been to get back into the swing of racing, and he couldn't even imagine what was going through her head at the moment.

Exhausted from everything that had happened, Tess leaned her head back against the wall and nodded off. Soon, Finn followed suit after watching the most uninteresting news station on the Waiting Room TV.

"Excuse me, who's here for Julia Maddon?" a nurse asked as she stepped to the Waiting Room.

Finn hopped up from his seat which caused Tess to wake up. To her embarrassment, she realized that she had been sleeping on his shoulder.

"We are," Finn quickly answered as they both went over to the nurse.

"She's got a broken arm, and we're waiting to give her a CAT scan to further assess the damage."

"Can we see her?" Tess asked.

"We just moved her to Room 104. You can go on back, but she's resting for right now, so please don't disturb her."

The nurse left, and they both went through the hallways until they found Room 104. Not wanting to wake Julia up, they waited outside her room for Tobey to arrive.

It was nearing daylight when he appeared at the end of the hall. He quickly came up to them and gave them both quick hugs.

"How is she?" Tobey asked.

"Arm is broke," Finn answered. "Waiting on the CAT scan."

Tobey sighed heavily. Then he slowly opened the door to Julia's room and went inside.

"This is all so messed up," Tess sighed. "It got messed up two years ago and has been messed up ever since."

Finn sighed. "I know. I'm gonna go find a bathroom. I won't be long."

Just a few minutes after Finn left, Tobey exited the room with a small trace of a smile on his face. Tess slowly went up to him. She gently put her hand to his face and lightly ran her finger over his cuts.

"Oh, Tobey…"

"I'm okay, Tess."

"What are you going to do about De Leon now?"

"I, uh, I found a car."

"Where?"

"Let's just say Anita has decided to reevaluate her relationship." He pulled out the large diamond ring she had given him.

Tess smiled a little. "Look, tomorrow, can you just do me a favor and wear an earpiece?"

"Communication isn't allowed in De Leon."

"Tobey, I'm a tech geek." She pulled out a small earpiece she had made Joe stop for after they had met up with Tobey on the Speedway. "This is an undetectable piece of technology. You can hear me and I can hear you. And it's not like I'm going to be feeding you information. It's just that if anything happens, I need to know that you're safe. Please."

Tobey let out a small sigh. But he knew how worried Tess was about tomorrow, and he didn't blame her. After what had happened with Pete, she didn't want the same thing to happen to him.

"Alright," he conceded.

Tess smiled again and hugged him tightly. "Kick his butt."

Tobey smiled at her and left to prepare for the race.

Tess watched him walk down the halls with determination in his step she had never seen before. Then she opened the door to Julia's room and stepped inside.

"Feeling okay?" she asked.

"I've been better."

"That's the thing about Dino. He constantly surprises me with how low he's willing to go to get what he wants. You know, he's my ex-boyfriend."

"You _dated_ Dino?! Why?"

"That's the question of the hour. So how was riding with my big brother for 45 hours straight?"

"To be clear, he's not actually your brother, right?"

"No. We're just so close, it's almost like we are brother and sister."

"Oh. We had a rough start, but he eventually warmed up to me."

"Oh, did he do that thing where he drives around like a complete maniac in the hopes that you'll get out of the car?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"They did the same thing to me. I love these guys as if they were family, but their opinion of girls and cars could really stand to get an update." There was a pause before she continued, "You know, Tobey really cares about you. I've never seen him look at someone the way he looks at you."

Julia smirked. "I could say the same for you and Finn."

Tess rolled her eyes. "You and the rest of the guys. Like I told them, Finn and I are just friends."

"Mm-hmm. You don't strip with someone to quit your jobs unless you feel at least a little something towards them."

"You do if your boss is an idiot."

"Okay," Julia said in a sing-song voice that clearly meant she didn't believe her.


	9. The De Leon

Finn, Tess, and Joe went outside the hospital where Joe had parked the Beast. They pulled up Monarch's webcast on the large screen on the side of the truck so they could follow Tobey's status in the race. Tess put in her earpiece.

"This is, by far, the best De Leon I've ever put together," Monarch said excitedly. "This is my David, man. This is my Pieta. This is my Soup Can."

"Tobey, can you hear me?" Tess asked into her earpiece.

"Loud and clear, Little Sis," Tobey answered.

"Good. We're all set up here, so we can see how the race is going. I'll only check in when necessary. You've got this."

"We've got our lineup," Monarch continued. "Each driver takes his spot at the starting line. In the first row is English Paul in a Bugatti Veyron and Dino Brewster in his Lamborghini Elemento. Row two is the Gooch in a Saleen S7. Texas Mike is in the McLaren P1. The third row has Johnny V in his GTA Spano. I'm looking at $7 million in cars and thousands of horsepower. Winner takes all. Losers, y'all can walk home. No sign of Tobey Marshall. I don't really know what all that's about, but I…Hold up. Wait, hold on." Tobey's new car pulled up into his designated spot. "Wait a minute, now. A sixth car has just arrived, but I can't, uh…" The door opened and Tobey stepped out of it. "Tobey Marshall just stepped out of a red Agera. Well! Maybe the little tart was right about there being three Koenigseggs the day Pete died."

Tess's mouth dropped open. "Tobey, you didn't tell me the new car you got was the one from that day two years ago!"

"Doesn't that just put salt in the wound?" Tobey answered.

Tess smirked. The next time she saw Anita, she was going to hug and praise her for finally seeing Dino for who he truly was and helping them get their revenge.

"You like the car I brought?" Tess heard Tobey ask Dino over the earpiece. "Because I know the cops will. Oh, and by the way, I think this belongs to you." He tossed Anita's engagement ring through the car window.

"Nice one," she said to him.

The racers got in their cars and prepared.

"Tobey, you've got this," Tess said encouragingly. "I know you do. Go show them that you don't need to race Indy to be a real racer."

The cannons boomed and the race began. Tess could hear the engines revving in her ear as all of them took off to be the winner of the famous De Leon race.

"Tobey Marshall and Johnny V are battling for fifth," Monarch said, giving the viewers of his webcast a play-by-play.

"You got it, you got it, you got it," Joe said as all three of them watched the moving dots on the screen that represented each car.

"And Johnny V is off the road."

Tobey moved up to fifth place on the side of the board where all the racers names were.

"Tobey Marshall's gonna roll the dice and try to split the Saleen and the P1."

Tobey's dot moved forward in between the two cars and pushed ahead into the next place.

"And he does it. Ladies and gentlemen, Marshall's guts have just been located and there's a lot of 'em. Texas Mike in the McLaren is now fifth, Tobey is now running fourth. Dino Brewster, you better watch yourself, son."

The three members of the team watching the Beast laughed as Tobey moved ahead in the race. After all this time, Dino was finally going to get what was coming to him.

"I've got flying cops. I've got flies in the ointment. I got CHP in the air all over the course. You add cops to the race and people get…Racers should race, cops should eat donuts!"

Tess rolled her eyes. The poor guys were just doing their job. And what they were doing _was_ illegal…

One of the dots disappeared from the track and the name faded as it got pushed to the bottom on the sidebar.

"The Gooch in the Saleen has been totally taken out. I can't believe what I'm seeing. British Paul holds first, Dino is still in second, Tobey Marshall moves into third."

"Yeah, boy," Finn said.

"All right, brother, keep it going," Joe added.

The dots continued speeding down the set track until another one faded and moved down the sidebar. Dino's dot lagged behind the others.

"Uh, I'm hearing over scanners the Bugatti has just got taken out," Monarch said. "Man. Wait a minute…Wait a minute, Tobey Marshall has somehow just taken the lead. Dino Brewster is running last in third place? Are you kidding me?"

"Yes!" Finn exclaimed.

"Come on, boy!" Joe urged. "Keep it going! Hold that lead! Hold that lead!"

Monarch looked at the camera. "And then there were three."

"Doing great, Big Bro," Tess said into her earpiece. "Keep it up!"

Tobey didn't answer, but Tess didn't want him to. He needed to focus on winning and beating Dino.

"They're coming up to the race marker to the bridge. Tobey is clearly running first. I can't believe it. The blue collar kid from Mount Kisco is trying to wear Cinderella's slipper."

The three of them cheered and Joe and Finn clapped one another's hands.

"By the way, these cop cars, they top out at about 130."

"Hold them back, baby!" Joe yelled. "Hold them back!"

"Good luck catching up, Smokey. I'll tell you who wins."

The car in second place suddenly faded and joined the others on the sidebar while Dino took the car's place.

"The Elemento just flicked the P1 into a roll. We're down to Tobey Marshall and Dino Brewster. This ain't just about racing."

"You bet it isn't," Tess muttered.

Dino's car sped up to Tobey's. All of them knew Dino wouldn't hesitate to do anything to Tobey's car in order to win, even if it meant killing him. He had proven that two years ago.

"Don't do it," Joe said firmly. "Tobey, don't let him do it."

Dino's dot sped past Tobey's. To the outsider, it seemed like it was a mistake on Tobey's part. But Tobey didn't make mistakes in racing. He knew that he couldn't have Dino directly behind him.

"Tobey Marshall just let the Elemento get by him," Monarch said in disbelief.

"Nice move," Joe remarked.

"That kid better wake up. Wake up, Tobey! Wake up and smell that $2 million Lambo in your pocket."

"Don't do it, brother. It's not worth it. You can beat him."

"Pete," Tobey said desperately. "I need you, pal."

Tess put her hand to her earpiece. "I'm here, Tobey…We both are."

"Okay, let's go."

Tobey's dot sped right next to Dino's dot. After a tense few seconds, Dino's name faded.

"Oh, jeez!" Monarch exclaimed. "Dino took a swing and missed and flipped the Elemento! Dino Brewster is out! Down goes Dino!"

Joe, Finn, and Tess began cheering and jumping around and hugging one another. This was it. Tobey was going to win the race!

"Tobey is the last man standing! He's gonna win the De Leon! He's gonna win the De Leon! The Marshall kid from Mount Kisco! He's gonna make a milk run to victory! Tobey is  
the last man standing! He's gonna win the De Leon! I can't believe what I'm seeing! The kid from Mount Kisco! The blue collar kid! Whoo!"

Suddenly, Tobey's dot came to a complete halt.

"Wait! Wait."

"What are you doing?" Finn asked.

"Why are you stopping?" Joe added.

Tobey's dot started going backwards in the direction of Dino's red dot.

Tess nodded knowingly. "He's going back for him," she said to the others.

"Why?" Finn asked.

"Because if he doesn't…he's no better than Dino."

Tess listened over her earpiece as Tobey ran over to Dino's car and opened it.

"Come on," Tobey said. "Come on."

There was a small explosion as Dino's car went up in flames.

"Hey, you okay?" Tobey asked.

"Yeah," Dino said coldly. "I'm fine. I'm fine."

"Good. This is for Pete."

There was the sound of a punch and Tess smiled. "Give him another one from me, Tobey."

"And this is from Tess."

Another punch sounded on her earpiece.

"Now go win this thing."

Tobey ran back to the car and Tess could hear the engine revving as he sped off once more. They watched the screen as Tobey's dot began moving again.

Finally, the cannons went off as he crossed the finish line at Monarch's lighthouse.

Tess moved away from Joe and Finn. "You did it," she said quietly into her earpiece. "You won."

"We did it," Tobey answered.

"I'm so proud of you, Tobey. Pete would be too."

"I…I'm at the lighthouse."

"Just like he saw in his 'vision'. Guess he wasn't so crazy after all."

"The cops are right behind me. I'm in a lot of trouble for breaking parole and racing. Looks like I'm gonna have to be separated from you guys for a little longer."

Tess nodded as her eyes watered. "They got the evidence now. We've finally proven your innocence. Dino can't fight his way out of this one."

Tobey sighed. "Just a few months, okay? I love you, Little Sis."

"I love you too, Big Bro."

Tess heard the car door open. Then there was a sharp crackle as Tobey destroyed the earpiece under his heel and buried the remains in the gravel.

She quickly wiped away the tears on her cheeks before Finn and Joe noticed. Then she walked back over to them and looked at the screen on the Beast.

"Well, now, hold on, cretins," Monarch said. "I'm hearing over the scanners that the Koenigsegg does indeed belong to Dino, and that's the missing evidence that killed Pete. Huh. Well, then it looks like Dino, Dino bambino is going away for a long, long time. Well, kiddos, it looks like Tobey himself is gonna enjoy three hots and a cot in the pokey for illegal street racing. Mmm, mmm, mmm. I don't know, Tobey. A few months in jail to prove your innocence. Was it worth it, kid?"

Joe and Finn hugged each other again, elated at Tobey's victory and Dino's defeat. Tess was silent, but they knew she truly was excited that her 'brother' had finally won the race they always dreamed of him winning.


	10. Tess and Finn

That night, Joe, Finn, and Tess rented two rooms at a motel on their way back to New York. Julia told them she was going to get a car from Ingram once she was discharged from the hospital and work with him until Tobey was released from prison in six months.

There was a knock on Tess's motel room door late into the night. She got up from her bed and went to go answer it. There stood Finn.

"Hey," she said with a small smile.

"What's up?"

"Just watching some _Parks and Rec_." He looked at her newest pack of sour gummy worms she was eating out of. "They had some in the vending machine around the corner. I bought three."

Finn smirked a little. She ate so many of those things, he often wondered how she hadn't gotten diabetes yet.

She had changed into a pair of gym shorts and another oversized t-shirt. Her hair had been tossed up into a messy bun. She didn't look extravagant at all. Yet he still found his breath hitching in his throat.

When he looked up at her, he noticed just how red her eyes were. It was clear she had been crying for some time.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Tess scoffed. "I'm fine."

Finn stepped inside as she moved back over to her bed. "Tess, I know we only really joke around, but really…are you okay?"

Tess was silent for a few moments before she turned to him. "I'm furious with Tobey for racing again. I mean, I know that it was really the only way that we could prove his innocence and get justice for Pete, but…I just got him back. And now he's gone again. I know it's only for six months, but that's six more months that I don't get to see him and spend time with him."

Finn looked at her sadly. Tess had been silent for the entire car ride to the motel, listening to her headphones and staring out the window. He knew from the start that she was upset about Tobey going to prison again. He and Tobey were best friends, but Tobey and Tess shared a different kind of bond with one another. They were closer than actual brothers and sisters. She had barely gotten to see him in the past three days after not being able to see him for two years. And now she was right back where she started.

Last time, Finn hadn't been there for her when she needed someone the most. But he was not going to let that happen again.

He smiled a little as he came up to her. "I've got a way to make you feel better. Come on."

He took her hand and led her out of her room. "Where are we going?"

Finn didn't answer her. He led her around the motel and towards the outdoor pool. After opening the gate, he escorted her inside.

"Finn, I don't have the proper attire for this."

"Who cares?"

She looked over to find him coming towards her with a devious smile. "No. No, Finn, I'm in my clothes. Don't! No, Finn—!"

She was cut off as Finn pushed her into the pool. When she surfaced, he whipped off his shirt and laughed as he did a cannonball next to her. She shielded herself from the splash. He started laughing again as he came back up.

"I hate you!" Tess exclaimed.

Finn splashed her which forced her to retaliate. That beautiful music reached his ears again and it sounded even better than before.

He went underwater and swam over to her. Before she knew what he was doing, he grabbed her foot and pulled her under with him. Tess then swam over to him and pushed his head under.

He slipped an arm under her knees and another around her waist and began carrying her around in the water as her arms encircled his neck. There was silence between them, the only sound being the light splash of the pool water.

Finn drew closer…and closer to her…

"Excuse me, the pool's closed," the one of the employees said sharply to the two of them. "Find somewhere else to make out."

Tess pressed her lips together in embarrassment as they swam over to the ladder. She got out of the pool first followed by Finn. They held in their laughter until they were out of the pool area and away from the stiff employee.

"Thanks," Tess said as they started walking back to her room. "I really needed that."

"Sorry we couldn't be in there longer."

"Hey, if that guy wasn't such a stick in the mud, we probably would've been fine." They made it to her door, and Tess walked inside. "Good night, Finn."

"Night."

Tess took a quick shower and changed into a tank top and some sweatpants. She had just finished drying her hair when there was a knock on the door again.

As soon as she opened it, Finn took her head in his hands and pressed his lips to hers. Tess tensed up in surprise. When Finn pulled away, she looked at him with wide eyes. Then she went up to him and kissed him again. All the anger and hurt she was feeling melted away as their lips danced across one another.

Joe walked back from the Beast towards his and Finn's room when he passed Tess's open door and saw her kissing Finn. He smiled and made a triumphant fist before walking into his own room.

* * *

"How you doing, Little Sis?" Tobey asked from the other side of the glass.

"I'm not bad. I've got so much I wanna tell you!"

"How about you start by telling me about you and Finn?"

Tess rolled her eyes. "How'd you find out?"

"Joe told me when he visited. I heard it was the night of the race?"

"Yeah. I was in a really rough spot that night after everything that happened, and…he was there for me."

"It's about time."

Tess laughed lightly. "Whatever. I have some good news. Anita helped me get onto Dino's server. I sold everything in his garage. So he's in for a fun surprise when and if he ever gets out of prison. And since I did it from his computer, there's no way it can be traced back to me."

Tobey laughed. "I knew you wouldn't let him go that easily."

"The profits all went to getting your garage up and running again. Joe, Finn, and I are going to keep it running until you're out. Uh, we changed the name of it. It's now Marshall and Coleman Motors."

Tears came to Tobey's eyes. "It's great, Tess. Pete would be thrilled."

"Yeah. I miss him."

"I do too."

"Stay safe in there, okay?"

"I will."

"Love you, Big Bro."

"Love you too, Little Sis."

"See you in a couple months."

* * *

Tobey walked out of the California jail a free man. When he looked down the road, he saw a bright red Mustang driving up to the entrance. It stopped right in front of him. He looked inside the window to find Julia in the driver's seat.

"Get in!" she told him. "I'll drive."

"I've seen you drive, and it's terrifying."

Tobey walked over and got into the driver's seat as Julia squeezed over to the passenger's side.

The two of them shared a loving look with one another.

Finn imitated kissing from inside the Beast. "Come on, lovebirds. We need to get Benny out of the clink."

"Maverick is getting out for good behavior," Joe told them.

"Yeah, apparently he started some fitness program for the inmates or something."

"I've got a way we can kill time on the way there," Tess said from the middle seat in the back.

She turned Finn's head to her and kissed him. She continued kissing him as she moved from the backseat into his lap in the passenger seat.

"Ugh, get a room," Joe complained.

Tobey smiled. "Finn, you're my best friend, but if you break her heart, I'll break your neck."

Everyone laughed, but no one doubted that Tobey would stay true to those words.

"We got five hours to get to Utah," Joe said. "Let's go."

The Mustang and the Beast took off on the ultimate race that they all loved so much: the race against time.


End file.
